Quest for the Yokai Stones
by Wolf-Kari
Summary: Kili and Kari (sorta like Kagome and Sango) are thieves who cross paths with Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku. All find that they are part of the quest of the Yokai stones and are up against some evil people, including Naraku. LEMON in later chaps.
1. A Well Thought Out Plan

Chapter 1: A "Well Thought Out" Plan  
  
The demon world is falling. The two of the four stones of Yokai have been stolen from their resting places. These stones represent the four major elements of magic and nature: wind, fire, water, and earth. They are extremely powerful and bless certain demons with the power that they hold. Evil is brewing among the demons, for packs will turn on one another, families will kill, and children learn the meaning of war far too young. The demolition of the world and the time of demons can only be stopped by five unlikely travelers who meet in unlikely circumstances. Our story starts in the beginning of a small adventure for two friends, a wolf demon named Kari and a dog hanyou named Kili.  
"Come on, we can steal it!" Kili shouted at Kari.  
"Don't even bother Ki; they have twenty guards just around the sword. I don't care if they stole it from you or not! We are never going to get past the fifty guards outside and the twenty inside! The odds are thirty- five to one," Kari replied. She always created the plans and diversions while Kili "borrows" the item of their liking. But this time it was different. This sword was stolen from Kili but two weeks ago. It was made from black quartz with a white gold hilt – beautiful but deadly. The demon who had stolen it was Kagura. She had stolen it for her father, Naraku, the most diabolical demon in the world, the one who had stolen two of the Yokai stones.  
Before we continue our story with Kari and Kili, I will explain about them and how they came to be together. Kari was a wolf demon in her tribe when she left. Her tribe had been enslaved to serve Nuraku and help him in his quest to take the Yokai stones. Kari barely escaped and is most likely the only one who survived. Kari has long bright purple hair with a single pink streak in the front. She has blue eyes with a violet ring. She is short for most demons but can fight better than any wolf demon. She wears a black and blue top and skirt and carries many weapons. She carries a sword of quartz with a white gold hilt – a sister to Kili's. She also carries twin daggers that are made of steel and white gold with a double blade, a spear made of solid oak with a steal head shaped like a crescent moon, and a bow of the supplest wood and arrows inlaid with water spirit magic to help them fly straight and true. After roaming the lands for a year, Kari came upon a school where demons trained their true nature powers, and her nature powers of the Yokai stones are of water. This is where she met Kili.  
Kili is the fastest dog hanyou ever to be founding her region of the world, for she came from the south and Kari from the north. She had lived with her family until war had broken out in the south, and after her parents and her brother had died in the war, she moved north to go to the school of training to develop her powers of fire. Kili has long black hair with flaming red tips and her eyes are crystal blue. She wears a black top and skirt and carries many weapons. She has a bow and arrow that was twin to Kari's and a sword but has different powers inlaid into them, powers as strong than Kari's but of fire. Kili is the one who is not as bright but is fast and sneaky. She can stand right in front of you and not be seen if she wants to. Both she and Kari are quick to anger but can be as sweet as a white rose when they desire. They have been together through thick and thin and have always gotten what they wanted in the end. To survive, they "borrowed" a few things of desire and need, for in these times many people steal to get what they want. But Kari and Kili are not common thieves, they are known as the Double K, for they have "borrowed" many things far and wide, though it is mostly money, food, and jewels.  
Now we go back to the situation at hand, the return of the sword to Kili.  
"I think I know what I can do, but I have to get farther away from the castle to do it," Kari said suddenly. They had gone back to the inn in which they were staying at to think about what they were going to do.  
"Finally! So what have you thought of?" Kili asked eagerly.  
"Well, we would have to wait until the changing of the guards, and then I can let some arrows fly from different directions to cause confusion. Then while that is going on you can slip in unnoticed, but once you get inside I do not know how you are going to slip past the other twenty guards."  
"I wish we still had Saku..."  
"Never wish that! You know what she did to me to get in league with Naraku! Don't even mention her name. Her throat is mine, and you know it."  
"She knows it too. Naraku has her in hiding; you will never find her."  
"I will, and when I do..."  
"Hush, someone is coming over here," she whispered. "No, that is not the best way to shoot an arrow!" she shouted, quickly changing the subject so as to look inconspicuous.  
"It is for me, so there!" Kari replied and stuck out her tongue. Three men were approaching; the dog hanyou had long white hair and amber eyes and carried a sword, the wolf demon had black hair pulled back and carried a spear, and the monk had a staff and beads of power around his hand. They approached the girls directly.  
"Well, well, look at what we have here," said the one with white hair. "Two young ladies such as yourselves should be more careful where you make plans to steal something of great value. Anyone can be listening."  
"Is there a problem, mutt?" Kari asked smoothly.  
"What did you call me?" he cried. He lunged at her but the monk held him back and hit him on the head with his staff.  
"Inuyasha, that is no way to treat a lady!" he smiled a big, cunning grin at the girls who returned his smile with glares.  
"Get off of me, Miroku, and shut up!" Inuyasha replied.  
"You two are stupider than I thought," the wolf demon said calmly. "You just gave them your names while acting like idiots. You're real smooth," he said with a smirk.  
"It doesn't matter! We got the Double K!" Inuyasha said with enthusiasm.  
"Think again, guys," Miroku replied while pointing to the two empty seats that were in front of him.  
"Damn! It's all your fault, Inuyasha! If you had just ignored that one little comment that she gave..."  
"It is not, Kouga! It's is all Miroku's fault! He held me back."  
"It is not my fault that they are smart and we are easily tricked," Miroku chided  
"What!" Inuyasha screamed. "I am going to kill you, Miroku!" Outside two girls were laughing so hard they had tears streaming down their faces.  
"Hahaha! That was funny! Hahaha! But now I have a great plan! Follow me!" Kari said.  
"Haha, okay, hahaha!" Kili replied. The two ran off into the night while the fight ensued inside the inn. They ran until they came to the castle. Kari ran straight up to the head guards.  
"What are you doing?" Kili hissed. Kari ignored her and went straight up to the head guard.  
"I am terribly sorry to bother you, but there is a major fight going on at the inn. A monk, dog and wolf demon are beating on everyone for no reason. They tried to rape me, but I got away! I think you should take your guards and go stop them! Who knows what they will do next!" Kari cried. She was almost to the point of tears, well, fake tears.  
"What! Men! Half of you come with me..."  
"No! You are going to need all your men, these guys are big, and one of them has the Tetsusaiga. I could recognize that sword anywhere. If he has mastered it, he can kill you all with one sweep. You have to take all of your men. He might hurt innocents," she added quickly with a few tears.  
"Okay, men, you heard the little lady, the towns folk need our help! Come on! You miss, can stay in the guard house where you are safe."  
"Why, thank you sir. You are so kind!" she replied as she was ushered into the guard's house. As soon as all the guards had left, she walked out as silently as possible to get Kili. They both went back inside the guard house.  
"Fifty down and twenty to go. They shouldn't be a problem. We can take on twenty guards together no problem. They are probably only good with the blade, which gives us the advantage"  
"Okay, let's go!" Kili said eagerly.  
"Okay, but be quiet."  
"Do you really need to ask?" Kili replied.  
"Okay, okay, now shut up!" Kari whispered. They snuck out of the guard house and into the palace grounds. While keeping to the shadows, they snuck to the center of the castle without any interruptions.  
"It's very quiet," Kari whispered.  
"Too quiet for a castle filled with guards, or so you said," Kili replied.  
"Shh, I just heard something." They both stopped to listen. Kili sniffed the air.  
"I smell something very familiar, and its reeks of Kagura," Kili growled. Something dropped further on in the castle. It was the second sound they had heard. Where were all of the guards? Where was everyone? They crept over toward the noise.  
"There is no need to be so sneaky. Come right on in. I would love to have some fun. Hee-hee."  
"Kagura!" they both said together. They ran into the room and there she was, flicking her fan around as if it were a harmless decoration.  
"So nice of you to drop by. That was a cute little trick telling them that Inuyasha was in town. Your lies and trickery aren't going to work here, Kari."  
"Maybe you're right, maybe my lies won't work with you, but my sword will!" Kari yelled, unsheathing her sword.  
"Hmm, that sword is pretty, too. I would love to have it and Naraku would, too."  
"We have come to reclaim what is rightfully mine!" shouted Kili.  
"I don't usually like it when people take stuff from me. It's not nice. I love that sword. I am going to keep it."  
"No you're not!" Kili yelled. She pulled out her bow and strung it so fast that any normal demon wouldn't have seen it coming. She let the arrow fly, but Kagura was quicker than any arrow and deftly caught it without so much as a blink.  
"Now, that is going to cost you." Kagura said no longer smiling. 


	2. The Joining of the Five

Chapter 2: The Joining of the Five  
  
Kagura is a wind demon, trained by her father, Naraku. She is pure evil and considers killing people fun and games. There are only three people who had ever beaten her at her own game. Inuyasha-a demon of the blade Tetsusaiga as well as a hanyou dog demon, Miroku-a monk with great power, and Kouga-a wolf demon with powers blessed by the Wind Yokai Stone- know of her power more than anyone and are the only demons that can destroy her.  
Kari quickly drew her staff and whispered a few words of power. But before she could release it, Kagura flicked her fan. The pattern of the fan changed and a giant gust of wind blew threw the room, knocking Kari and Kili from their feet. They immediately jumped to their feet only to meet blades of death. Another flick of the fan and the pattern changed yet again. Shimmering blades flew from the fan faster than any normal eye could follow. Kili jumped up over the blades and drew her daggers while Kari ducked under the blades and whispered words into her staff. Kili came crashing down on Kagura, but not before Kagura had freed her sword from its hilt. The thin, reed-like blade of the sword slashed at Kili's ankles, causing Kili to lose her balance and fall. Her legs were slashed and mangled from the force that Kagura had swung it. "Fool," she hissed. "No one can touch me. No one can harm me. I can lift you from the very ground, if I please." With that she flicked her fan, yet again, and Kili flew up in the air, surrounded by a swirling wind. "You cannot win!" She howled triumphantly.  
"Not if I can help it!" yelled Kari and with than she hit Kagura with her moon blade from behind. Kagura turned just in time to see the blade come crashing down, but she was too slow to avoid the blade altogether. It slashed at her arm, cutting through to the bone, but that wasn't all the damage that it had induced. Kari had inlaid spells of ice into the blade. Kagura's arm started to freeze over. She howled in pain.  
"How dare you!" she screamed. "You are going to pay for this!" and with that Kagura sent one of the beams from the ceiling overhead crashing onto Kari, who's arm was now pinned under it. "Now I would like to see try to get out of this!" Kagura raised her fan to send blades of death at Kari, when she paused. There was a soft twang as an arrow shot by Kili flew toward Kagura. Yet again, she was not harmed, but she deflected it with her fan towards Kari. Kari was unable to move out of the way, so the arrow pierced her leg. She screamed, for Kili had put a spell of fire into the arrow, and the magic was causing her unimaginable pain. "That scream was scrumptious. But it wasn't the best scream I can get," Kagura hissed. "Maybe if I hurt your friend here, I will get a better scream." She turned toward Kili, who was still suspended in midair, and walked over to her. "Let's see," Kagura smiled. "How about this!" She drew her sword and brought the flat of it down onto Kili's open wounds. Kili did not make a sound, but tears streamed down her face with the effort of not screaming. "Not hard enough for you?" Kagura hissed. She started hitting Kili all over with the flat of her blade. Kari watched in horror of what was happening. She could do nothing as her friend was beaten and whipped. Kari silently drew one of her daggers, and aimed for Kagura's back. But before she could draw back her arm to make the throw, Kagura sent a wind through the room, knocking Kili to the floor and Kari's head into the wall, causing her to black out. Kili tried to get to her feet but failed. Suddenly, the door to the room flew inward and across the room. There stood Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku in the doorway. Kagura spun around. "What are you doing here?" Kagura asked, astounded. Fear crept into her features and she grimaced the slightest bit. "Great!" Kili said. "The Three Stooges have arrived." Then she blacked out. "You've stayed away from us long enough, Kagura," Kouga announced. "It's time for you know what it feels like to lose," Inuyasha said with a grin. "Enough with the talking, go have some fun, but when I yell now, move," Miroku said quietly so only Inuyasha and Kouga could hear. "Yeah, yeah, we know already," Inuyasha said with a bored look. "You better hurry up, doggy boy," Kouga yelled. "I'm getting a head start!" Kouga ran right up to Kagura, but she was fast and she brought her blade up to slice him in two. Kouga was faster, and he dogged the blade. But before Inuyasha and Kouga could strike again, the roof exploded inward, knocking everyone from their feet. A dark, purple cloud with a man on it floated above them. Naraku reached down and picked up his daughter. "I think we will be leaving. My daughter needs some rest. You can come after her later," Naraku said with a smirk. "Now!" shouted Miroku. "No!" yelled Kouga. "Look!" shouted Inuyasha, "Naraku's insects!" Naraku's insects were used to stop Miroku from using his wind tunnel in his hand, a curse Naraku had put on him. He can suck any demon into it, but it will eventually consume him one day, unless Naraku is killed. If the wasps enter his wind tunnel, he could die. "Goodbye," Naraku said, and with that he went off into the night. Inuyasha was just about to run after him when Kouga and Miroku stopped him. "Those girls need tending to first," Miroku said kindly. "We can kill him later," Kouga said. "Arg! His trail is fresh. We almost had him!" Inuyasha yelled. "Help me get the beam off of her" Kouga said to Miroku while pointing to Kari. "You can go get the other girl, Inuyasha." "We should bring them to Kaede," Miroku suggested. "She can heal any wound, even these." They took the girls from the village and brought them to a place very few could find: Kaede's hut. 


	3. Kaede's Hut

Chapter 3: Kaede's Hut  
  
Kari slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a small hut filled from wall to wall with herds, jars, and poultices. To her right lay Kili, who had yet to wake from her slumber. "Kili!" she whispered. She tried to rise but failed and fell back down into the bed.  
"Ye should rest. Do not sit up, stay still," A voice said from behind. An old woman circled the bed and came into view of Kari. "Ye are strong, and so is yonder friend of yours," she said gently. She pulled back the covers to reveal clean bandages. "Ye had a nasty wound, but ye are well on your way to recovery."  
"How long have I been unconscious?" Kari asked meekly.  
"Ye both have been asleep for a day and a night, young missy," she replied. "Do ye mind if I may inquire as to what your name may be, child?"  
"Kari, and she's Kili. We're the..."  
"Double K, I know child," she said softly. "Don't ye be worryin' now. Ye are safe here." With that Miroku poked is head in the doorway.  
"So you're awake! You are a miracle worker, Kaede! You are looking even more beautiful now than you did at our last meeting! So, I was wondering..."  
"Ye will wonder nothing and ye will leave the poor child alone! Now be off with ye and tell the other two to come here. If I find ye near these poor missies again ye will find something a bit nasty in your dinner! Now go!" she said while she pushed him out of the door. Kili started to stir in her sleep. "She'll be waking soon," she said much more gently.  
"That was Miroku, right?" Kari asked.  
"Yes, child, and I warn ye, stay clear of his hands," she replied with a smirk.  
"So he's always like that?" she asked incredulously.  
"Yes," she said shortly, for then walked in Inuyasha and Kouga. "There ye are! I need ye to get some more herbs, for the ones used to help take the magic from their wounds are in low supply. Ye must find them for me."  
"I am not a herb collector or an errand boy, Kaede," Inuyasha said curtly.  
"Don't be stupid, doggy! We can do this faster and get it over with if you don't grumble, anyway. She needs the herbs, we are going to get them," Kouga said kindly and walked outside.  
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me doggy?" Inuyasha yelled after him. He stalked out of the hut muttering under his breath.  
"Are they always like that, too?" Kari asked.  
"There is no living with them," Kaede said with a shake of her head.  
"I'm hungry. Is there any food around here?" Kili said from her bed.  
"There is no living with this one either. She'll eat you out of house and home!" Kari said with a chuckle.  
"I see," said Kaede. "Well, then ye'll be eating my potions to heal ye, and I think that will stay your appetite!" Kaede said teasingly.  
"What? No pickles?" Kili cried. "I can't live without pickles!"  
"Did I mention she loves pickles more than her sword...by the way, what happened to the sword, and all of our weapons?"  
"Don't tell me that we almost got killed only to have Naraku toying with my blade!" Kili wailed.  
"No, Kagura's sword is safe along with the rest of your weapons," Miroku said from in the doorway, "safe away from you two! Oh, now you're awake! May I say that you are absolutely lovely this morning? If you don't mind..."  
"She minds!" Kari interrupted.  
"I was only going to ask if you minded if I asked..."  
"...If you could have a 'moment alone'?" Kari asked hotly.  
"No! I want to ask why she called it her blade when Kagura had it," Miroku said innocently.  
"Right..." Kari mumbled.  
"Well, you see, we were innocently minding our own business when Kagura stumbled across our path. She saw my sword and wanted it. Apparently when she wants something, she gets it. She stole it in the middle of the night, but not without leaving a present for me in return," and with that, Kili pulled back her hair to reveal and thin scar running along the right side of her hairline. "We tracked her for two weeks to that palace. I thank you for helping to retrieve my most cherished possession."  
"Oh, it was nothing," Miroku said modestly.  
"Yeah, thanks for helping us," Kari grumbled. Suddenly there was a thunderous crash and then Inuyasha appeared on the floor of the hut with the remains of part of the roof.  
"I am going to kill you, Kouga!" he screamed. He jumped up through the ceiling, creating another hole in the roof, and landed outside. Kouga flew over the roof of the house and landed on the other side.  
"It was just a joke!" he yelled at the rampaging hanyou.  
"Joke my butt!"  
"Ye will not fight around this hut with these poor missies inside! Take your fight somewhere else or cease!" Kaede yelled. She peered outside to find them frozen in action; Inuyasha biting Kouga's foot and Kouga pulling Inuyasha's hair. "Now!" They scrambled to their feet and walked grumbling in different directions.  
"How long do we have to stay in bed?" Kili asked.  
"A day or two, but if ye want to go outside I am sure that Inuyasha or Kouga will be willing to bring ye out for fresh air," Kaede said reassuringly.  
"Can we go now?" Kili asked excitedly.  
"I think we should wait until morning," Kari interjected. "They probably need time to cool off." Kaede gave them each a sleeping potion so sleep would come easily to them. After they were fast asleep she had Inuyasha and Kouga take turns standing guard in front of the door to keep certain girls in and a certain monk out. Soon night settled in and everyone slept.  
  
The sun rose to a beautiful morning in the forest. The sun dappled the forest floor and sprigs of Forget-Me-Knots lay scattered about the undergrowth. The birds chattered and a waterfall could be heard in the distance. It was a peaceful place filled with serenity and lethargic airs. Or at least it would be but for a certain monk and his wandering hands.  
"YOU HENTAI!" yelled an enraged Kili. A resounding smack could be heard by anyone within a league. Miroku stumbled out of the hut with a handprint tattooed onto his face. "And don't you ever, ever come near me again!"  
"How did you get past me?" Kouga asked.  
"I used the hole in the roof," Miroku replied with a grin.  
"I don't think you'll be making that trip again."  
"No, I am getting the feeling that they don't like me that way, if you know what I mean," he said sincerely. Kouga shook his head.  
"You need help, and lots of it."  
"Let me guess, Inuyasha is hunting?" Miroku asked.  
"I have no idea," said Kouga nonchalantly. Then Kaede burst out of the hut.  
"Miroku, come here now!" she ordered. He put on a brave face and walked up to the old woman. She grabbed him by the ear and dragged him to a well. "For the rest of the day ye will be drawing water from this well and watering my herb gardens. And ye won't stop till I tell ye. Now get to it!" With that she shoved a bucket into his hands and walked away. Kouga sat there trying very hard not to laugh.  
"I better get started then," he sighed and started to draw water from the well.  
  
Inuyasha had left the camp at midnight to go and practice with the Tetsusaiga, as he did frequently. He was in a clearing with three dead deer off to the side which he had killed for that night's dinner. Kouga watched him from a distance.  
"You should widen your stance, doggy. It'll make it easier for you to swing," Kouga called for his hiding place.  
"I know what I am doing, wolffy. Mind your own business," Inuyasha said smoothly. Kouga jumped from his hiding place and tossed Inuyasha a staff. Inuyasha threw his sword aside and swung at Kouga. Kouga easily blocked it. They continued to spar in silence. Kouga was first to speak.  
"So what do you think we should do with those girls? Turn them in, let them go free, or what?"  
"I don't know. They'll be fine enough to go off in a day or two. Do you have any idea why they were fighting Kagura in the first place?"  
"Yeah, Miroku asked them about it. Apparently Kagura had stolen that sword from them and they wanted it back. It is a fine blade.  
"They were fools to go after her."  
"Brave fools," Kouga said while deflecting another of Inuyasha's blows. He quickly spun around and knocked the staff out of Inuyasha's hand, but not before Inuyasha had bruised his arm. "Let's bring the deer back. It's getting late." They took up the deer and ran back to the hut. When they arrived, Miroku was sitting outside the hut with twin handprints on his face along with a smile and a large bump on his head.  
"I don't want to know!" Inuyasha and Kouga said.  
"I suggest you stay away from those girls from now on," Inuyasha said.  
"I have to agree with doggy boy here," Kouga said with a smirk.  
"Before you guys get into a fight, again, the girls want to be brought outside. I graciously offered to help myself but they told me to 'go away and never come back.' I can't imagine why!" Inuyasha and Kouga rolled their eyes and put the deer down by the cooking fire.  
"Tell Kaede that we brought food," Kouga told Miroku and they went inside the hut. When they walked in Kari and Kili burst out laughing.  
"What's so funny?" Inuyasha demanded.  
"Nothing!" Kari managed to say through her laughter.  
"Really, what's wrong?" Kouga asked. The two continued to laugh and didn't answer. Tears were starting to stream down their faces. Kouga and Inuyasha gave each other a look and then turned to walk out of the hut.  
"Wait!" Kili shouted after them. She turned to Kari who then burst out laughing again.  
"What is with you two?" Inuyasha screamed. He stomped over to their beds. His face was turning redder and redder with each second and his stared at the two demons who were trying to control their laughter.  
"Well..." Kili said.  
"It was nothing!" interrupted Kari. "Absolutely nothing." She gave Kili a look and then quieted down. "Would you mind taking us outside for some fresh air?"  
"Sure," Kouga said while walking over to Kari's bed. He lifted her up and carried her outside. Inuyasha followed suite with Kili. 


	4. A Great Power, a Great Enemy

Chapter 4: A Great Power, a Great Enemy  
  
A week went by and the two trouble makers were back on their feet and regaining their strength. Kari and Kili were sparring in a clearing. They had decided to stay a while longer. Even though the monk had his wondering hands, Kaede, Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku were pleasant company and they enjoyed their time with them. It was another sunny day and the forest was filled with the sounds of tripping water, birdsong, and the clack of the wooden staffs of the sparring duo.  
Kari and Kili were a whirlwind of people and staffs. They moved so quickly that the best human would be no match. Their sparring continued unwavering. Neither let a strike go past them and neither was able to find their mark. They were a perfect match, or would have been if a curious dog and an inquisitive wolf had not come upon their practice. Kouga, feeling like a trouble maker, threw a stick straight toward Kari's upper body. She saw it coming, but Kili's blow was aimed at her head, so if she ducked Kili's blow, she couldn't deflect the stick. To Kouga's amazement, Kari back flipped while swinging her staff upward, causing her to jump over the stick and, surprisingly, braking Kili's stick in the process. Turning around, Kili threw one half of her stick toward the bushes. A resounding "thunk" could be heard as Kari landed. "What was that?" Kari asked.  
"THAT WOULD BE MY HEAD!" Inuyasha screamed as he jumped out from the bushes while rubbing the rather large bump on his head.  
"Well, if you hadn't interrupted our sparring, you wouldn't have gotten hurt, now would you?" Kili scolded.  
"It wasn't my fault!" Inuyasha screamed at Kili. "It was Kouga!" Kouga strolled out of the bushes as if nothing had happened.  
"Hi. Nice moves," he remarked.  
"Kouga!" Kari yelled.  
"Well it didn't look like you were going to get anywhere fast," he replied.  
"Have you ever heard of exercise? You know, working with your body so you get stronger and into shape!" Kari yelled back.  
"It doesn't look like you need to get into shape to me," Kouga said with a smirk.  
"Thanks, but I think you may need some work," she said casually and walked away. Kili was trying very hard to stop from laughing.  
"Ouch," Inuyasha said with a smirk on his face.  
"Shut up," Kouga replied. But he was smiling along with the rest of them.  
"Get your head down from cloud nine, wolfy boy. She is way out of your league," Kili shouted behind her shoulder as she walked away. Kouga and Inuyasha followed after them in hot pursuit. Kouga wasn't going to give up that easily.  
After about an hour trying to track her, Kouga found Kari sitting on a rock in a small clearing deep in the forest. She sat with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Kouga strolled up to her and waved a hand in front of her face.  
"Hello! Anyone there?" he said softly. No reply came from Kari. "I know you can hear me," he said with a grin. Still no reply came from the placid wolf demon. "I just want to talk t..." he was cut off by the air starting to crackle around him. He paused and looked at Kari. She seemed to be undisturbed by this. The power that lashed around them was incredibly strong. Suddenly, the entire clearing was surrounded by a rushing whirlwind of white water and ice. Above, lightening raced in crazy patterns, depicting his worst fears. The air around them became moist and humid, yet icy cold.  
Kari started to sway. Her eyes came open and slowly looked at Kouga. Her eyes were no longer their usual blue and purple, but had glazed over as an ice blue, coving all but the pupils. The look pierced through his soul. He shivered with the intensity of it. He was unprepared for this. The power within her started to frighten him. A voice sounded from all around him. It was Kari's voice, yet her lips never moved. "Why did you follow me?"  
"I...I ... I wanted to talk... but I can see you're a little busy..."  
"Sit!" she commanded. He gently thumped to the ground. "Close your eyes." He hesitated. Why would she ask him to do this? "Now," the voice said curtly. He closed his eyes.  
He was instantly swept into a current of ice cold water. In his mind's eye he could see rushing torrents of white snow and ice piercing the blackness of his mind. He struggled to open his eyes. He clawed at them to awaken from the biting cold and the ripping ice. He was flung wildly around like a rag doll. It suddenly stopped. He could feel the tingle of warmth on his skin. Voices were coming to him. He slowly opened his eyes, and the world came crashing down around him. Kili, Inuyasha, and Miroku were crashing through the underbrush, shouting his and Kari's name. Kari was standing on the rock, glaring down on him.  
"Please tell me we made it in time!" he could hear Kili shouting to the others. They burst into the clearing to find a Kouga covered from head to foot in melting, white ice and an angered Kari glaring down at him. Kili paused and told the others to stop.  
"Think again before you follow me, wolf. Keep your distance," She turned to go, but then paused and looked back at Kili. "Give me time," she whispered and walked off in the opposite direction.  
  
Later that day, Kari silently walked into the camp. Kili and Inuyasha were cooking dinner while Miroku and Kaede were sorting herbs. Kouga was nowhere in sight. Kari sat down by Kaede.  
"What ye did was foolish, child," she said without looking up. "Using your full power when you are not yet totally recovered is very dangerous." Kari delicately arched her eyebrow.  
"What are you talking about?" she asked.  
"After a detailed description from Kouga, you showed amazing potential. Your abilities are beyond what we expected. But Kaede is right. You shouldn't use that kind of power yet," Miroku replied. It was all Kili could do to keep from laughing. "What?" Miroku asked.  
"I am no weakling," Kari replied with a smirk. "I studied for years at an ancient school with Kili. We are beyond what any of you could ever imagine."  
"You see," Kili said as she stood, "Kari comes from a line of Chikara Wolf Demons. They have immense power. I come from the Kowagaruno line of dog demons."  
"But you are only half demon, like me," Inuyasha stated.  
"Just because I am only half, doesn't mean I can't use as much power as she. Looks can be very deceiving. You have the same potential as me," she replied with a somber expression.  
"But if you are so powerful," Miroku stated, "why didn't you use it on Kagura?"  
"She is in league with Naraku. We...met Naraku a while back. He knows how to lock away most of our power. We work hard and practice in order to break that wall, but to no avail. The only thing we can do is use minor spell on our weapons, and that is only if we have our weapons with us," Kili explained  
"I see," said Miroku.  
"Dinner's done," Inuyasha said, trying to change the subject. They all gathered around and started to eat. Inuyasha and Kouga had hunted before, bringing back an entire stag. It was as excellent a dinner as could be made while in the countryside. Halfway through the meal, Kouga appeared. He looked a little disheveled but better than when they had last seen him. He looked around and took the seat furthest away from Kari, who hadn't even acknowledged his presence. After dinner, Inuyasha went up to Kouga.  
"Listen, Kili and I were talking, and she told me about Kari and her past. Maybe you should go talk with her. She probably needs someone right now."  
"Since when are you Mr. Sensitive?" Kouga asked sarcastically.  
"I am not sensitive! I am a warrior!" Inuyasha yelled indignantly.  
"Sure sounds like it to me," Kouga replied.  
"I was...I was just...just being tuned toward her emotions. That's all," Inuyasha huffed.  
"Yeah, sure..." Kouga said over his shoulder as he walked away. He walked over to where Kari was sitting. She was polishing her sword, but tears dripped from her leaking eyes, mixing with the oils on her blade. She made no attempt to wipe the silent tears away as they continued to stream down her face. "Kari?" Kouga said gently as he kneeled down next to her. "Kari, what is it?"  
"It's nothing of your concern," she replied curtly and continued to polish her sword. Kouga nodded and sat with his legs crossed.  
"I'm sorry, Kari, for following you before. You led so many false trails that I thought it was a game instead of a warning. I am truly sorry."  
"Just make sure you don't do it again," she replied in a shaky voice. Some time passed with nothing changing accept for the increase of tears. She threw her sword down in frustration. "Why can't I stop crying!" she wailed. "I must look like a blubbering fool!" she announced with a pathetic attempt of a smile. Kouga gently put his arm around her.  
"It's okay. Go ahead and cry," he whispered to her gently.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
Kili and Inuyasha were sitting on Kaede's roof, looking at the stars. It was a cool, clear night. The wind rustled in the tree tops and you could hear the gurgle of the stream.  
"What do you three do?" Kili asked. "I mean, I know that you guys are fighters and stuff, but what do you do? What are you after?"  
"We all have something against Naraku. Kouga's pack was slaughtered by him. Miroku's wind tunnel is a curse from Naraku put upon his family."  
"What about you?" Kili asked, turning toward him.  
"Naraku killed my human mother, the only person who loved me, when I was eight. Ever since I have tried to find him. I finally did the night that we rescued you two. But I couldn't go after him. Now that he has two of the Yokai Stones, it makes what I need to do all the more urgent."  
"I'm sorry we held you back."  
"No need to be sorry," he said smiling at her. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Kili blushed.  
"Umm... heehee...uh..." Kili stumbled. Suddenly, Inuyasha hit his nose and a flea was smashed on his hand.  
"Lord Inuyasha!" came a small squeak.  
"Myoga..." Inuyasha growled.  
"What are you still doing here, Lord Inuyasha? I thought you were on hot pursuit and then I find you lying around here for weeks! What is wrong with you? Why don't you..." Inuyasha flicked him with his finger, causing him to fly over the roof and beyond sight.  
"Who was that?" Kili asked.  
"My old friend Myoga, who apparently arrives at the wrong time and is never there when needed," Inuyasha replied grumpily.  
"So, anyway..."  
"Yeah, anyway..."  
"Aaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!" someone screamed in the distance.  
"What the hell...?" Inuyasha and Kili leapt from the roof and ran toward the scream. They arrived to an interesting scene. Kouga was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face. An infuriated Kari was standing over an unconscious monk.  
"What happened?" Kili asked, afraid of the answer.  
"Miroku, here," said Kari through clenched teeth, "had decided that his wandering hands weren't enough to piss me off, but his mouth had to run away too! I am in no mood for groping hands and lecherous talk! Goodnight!" With that Kari stomped off to the hut. Miroku started to stir.  
"Should we help him?" Kili asked.  
"No. He disserves it. He's had plenty of warnings. He just can't seem to get the message through his thick head of his," Inuyasha replied with a shrug.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, let's just go," Kouga said as his laughter abated. They all slowly walked back to the hut, leaving the naughty little monk to tend for himself.  
A few days later was filled with dark clouds and thunderous rain. The five demons were inside the hut, talking about what they should do. They had spent ample time at Kaede's. Kari and Kili were getting anxious to be on their way and Inuyasha, Kouga and Miroku were eager to be off after Naraku. They begged the girls to come with them, but they gently turned them down. Their business with Naraku was over and they wished to be on with their lives. Unfortunately, the rain was keeping them from leaving, so they contented themselves with the Three Stooges while they waited for their time of departure.  
"Are you sure you want to leave?" Miroku whined.  
"For the millionth time, yes. We have to go back to..."  
"We just have some unfinished business to attend to," Kari interrupted. They girls had been very secretive about many things. This was no exception. The three didn't bother asking. They knew they wouldn't get an answer.  
"Ye are fit enough to travel, but ye must promise me that ye will come back and visit me," Kaede said. "I be a lonely old women and pleasant company is appreciated."  
"What about us, old hag?" Inuyasha cried out indignantly.  
"I said pleasant. Ye are a trouble maker more than anything else, Inuyasha," she said calmly. Inuyasha mumble something under his breath. A sorrowful atmosphere enveloped the hut.  
"Don't worry," Kili said. "I bet our paths will cross once again."  
"How do you know that?" Kouga asked suspiciously. Kari and Kili looked at each other. Kari nodded and walked out of the hut. No one tried to stop her. For the past few days she seemed distant and easy to anger. Kili sighed and plunged into the story.  
"Sakuso and Sanyli, I am sure you've heard of them..."  
"They are Naraku's minions!" Miroku said amazed.  
"Yeah, well, they weren't when we knew them."  
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked hotly. He was still in a bad mood from the remark that Kaede had given him.  
"About ten years ago, in human years, Sakuso and Sanyli were our good friends and partners in crime. We were unstoppable together you would have known us as the..."  
"The Dorobu," Kouga finished incredulously.  
"You were the most feared demons next to Naraku!" Inuyasha said.  
"Yes, we were. But we didn't know that they were to turn to our worst enemy." She paused for a moment. "Sanyli was in league with Naraku from the beginning. We never knew this, until we caught her trying to slit my throat in my sleep. With my own sword as well! Kagura wasn't the only one who gave me a scar in a dishonorable fight." With that, she pulled up her sleeve and revealed an "x" marked into her flesh. "This scar will never heal over. It is a mark to be recognized by Naraku. It is a mark that will tell him that I am stronger than his minions, but not strong enough, for Sanyli escaped." She rolled her sleeve down to again hide the mark. "It is her I hunt and her blood I hunger for. I will not rest until I kill her with by bare hands. I told her secrets I would only tell a sister..." her voice trailed off.  
"You did not tell these things to Kari?" Inuyasha asked, stunned.  
"She tried to turn me away from Kari. It was working slowly. But when she had gone one step to far, and I had suspected of her, she tried to kill me." She was silent for a long while. Kouga shifted uneasily.  
"What of Sakuso?" he whispered. Kili looked up with haunted eyes.  
"What Sanyli did to me was but a mere trifle compared to what Sakuso did to Kari. She did nothing to harm me, but she took something of Kari's which she could never regain." She paused again, not wanting to go on.  
"She took away my dignity," came a voice from the doorway. It was a hollow, emotionless voice. "She stripped me of my self respect and made me no better then any other whore." Her voice became bitter and acidic. "She assisted in helping the Thunder Brothers, who served Naraku, in raping me." Her voice became hardly above a whisper. "She sealed my power through her own water powers. She bound me in ice and delivered me right into their filthy hands. I was in their control for only three days before Kili rescued me, but three days was three too many." Her voice was barely audible by the last words. Kouga rose but Kari motioned him to sit down. Her face was devoid of emotion. The look scared him. A silent tear rolled down her cheek. "When I find her, I am going to make her suffer for what she did to me." Her voice was filled with enough venom to cause a cobra to shrivel in fear. "She will pay not only in blood, but in soul." More tears coursed down her cheeks. "I...I have to go..." The rain had stopped and she ran outside. Kouga was about to follow her but Kili stopped him.  
"Don't," she said while blocking him with her arm. He pushed Kili aside and ran after her.  
"So how are our paths to cross," Inuyasha asked, trying to break the silence.  
"Sanyli and Sakuso are bound to Naraku. You are after him as well." She paused for a moment and stared off into nothing. "Though our paths lead in different directions, they will cross at Naraku."  
"Then let us travel together. If you come with us after Naraku, you are bound to find them!"  
"We travel alone, and that's final," she said curtly. She looked straight into his eyes. "I wish it could be different but that is how it is so." She was looking into his eyes, but she wasn't seeing him standing there. She was seeing something entirely different. She didn't see the hut around her. Kili was seeing something that no other person could have seen. She had a glimpse.  
"What family did you say you came from," he asked suddenly.  
"The Kowagaruno family," she said suspiciously.  
"I heard that they can see the future, but many say that it is just a myth," he said, worried he was crossing a line. She turned to him with icy eyes.  
"I am only half Kowagaruno. I only see glimpses, and I only see glimpses of people who have very confused or powerful auras."  
"You saw me?" It wasn't a question. It was a statement. She gave a small nod.  
"And Miroku, Kouga, Naraku, Kagura, Sanyli, Sakuso, and Kari, but I have seen her before."  
"What did you see?" he asked. He was scared of what she would say.  
"I saw...saw... I saw you collapse dead. Kari was fighting Sakuso and I had just killed Sanyli." She paused and drew a breath. "Miroku and Kouga were fighting with Kagura, but Miroku couldn't use the wind tunnel because of the insects, and Kouga was wounded very badly. He could barely stand. I was on my knees and Naraku was laughing. He was laughing!" She cried out in anguish and fell into Inuyasha's arms.  
"Why them?" he pleaded under her breath. "Why do these poor girls have to be caught up in this?" He held Kili until she fell asleep in his arms, tormented by horrifying nightmares.  
  
"Kari, stop!" Kouga yelled. Kouga had been chasing after her for almost an hour and had finally caught up to her. She was running as fast as he, but she had the head start. "Please stop!" She slowed to a stop and sat down, panting. He caught up with her and sat down. "You're going to run yourself into a heart attack!" he yelled at her. "Maybe I want a heart attack!" she yelled back. "Maybe I am running away because I don't want to be around you any more! Did you ever think of that?" she cried. He scooted close to her and tried to put his arm around her. She pushed his arm away and sat there with her eyes cast to the ground. "Stay away from me! Or do you want to do to me the same as what the Thunder Brothers did! You just want to seduce me!" Tears were streaming down her face as she stood. "An evil deed done sweetly is still an evil deed," she hissed. "Kari..." he said, shocked. "No!" she yelled and she started to back away. "Kari, I would never..." She laughed insanely. "Yeah right, why else would you be so kind to me?" He ran up to her before she could get away, and grabbed her shoulders. "Look into my eyes Kari. Look at them!" She slowly looked into his eyes. She was expecting coldness. She was expecting evil. She saw neither. She saw kindness and caring. Before she could see anymore, he hugged her to him. She tried to resist but soon gave into the embrace. Sunlight started to filter through the cloud cover that had made the entire forest seem dismal. She felt the warmth tickling the back of her flesh. "You are my my friend. I would never hurt you. I give my word on my life I would never do anything to hurt you." She slowly looked back up to his face. His eyes looked down at hers with so much kindness. She had never had this kindness from a man. "I know that the only reason you are leaving us is because you are nervous around us. I know that you are uneasy around men. I understand why, now. Please come with us." "You're right. That was one reason. But there is more to it than that. Kili told me..." she choked on her words. She couldn't tell him what she had seen. She just couldn't. Not now. Not after he had been so kind. They had to leave them so they wouldn't be connected. They had to leave them so they wouldn't be hurt. "Why? What is it?" he asked gently. She had to look away from those eyes. She couldn't tell him. "I can't tell you," she whispered. A single tear ran down her cheek. He brushed it away. "Don't cry anymore. You are surrounded by friends. You shouldn't have to cry anymore." She stopped herself. "Just as you have shown me kindness, I must return it," she said softly. "To do so, I must leave you." "How could leaving me be kind?" he asked, slightly hurt by her words. She never was able to answer him for they heard a cry coming from the direction of the hut. They ran in the direction of the scream. 


	5. An Old Foe

Chapter 5: An Old Foe  
  
Soldiers were swarming the hut. Kaede was the one who had let out that scream, for the soldiers had dragged her out of the hut by her hair. Kari and Kouga were sitting in the bushes near by, watching the entire scene. They were tearing the small hut apart. Miroku, Inuyasha and Kili were no where in sight. "Where are they?" she whispered.  
"They probably ran off before they even got here and Kaede is putting on a show. But why are they here?"  
"Umm..."  
"What did you do?"  
"Back before you met us, we had kinda stolen something from the lord of some small city near the ocean. We thought that we lost his trackers a while ago. We shouldn't have stayed here this long." She gazed out at the scene. Kaede had bashed a soldier over the head with a cooking pot for looking through her clothing. It was a comical scene.  
"What exactly did you steal?" he asked, hoping against hope it was replaceable.  
"Actually, it wasn't so much as stealing than rescuing..."  
"What?!"  
"Shush!" she said urgently. "He had a young woman at the palace I had met before in our travels. He forced her to...serve him."  
"I see. So you rescued her. Is she replaceable?"  
"There's more to it. Without our knowing, she took his most prized horse and his family's amulet. I don't think it's replaceable. The only thing is, she disappeared a long time ago and only Kili and I know where she is."  
"Great," he mumbled. "I guess our only chance is to run, come on." He grabbed her arm but she pulled away.  
"Hell, no! These guys may be excellent trackers and very good fighters, but they are very, very stupid, otherwise."  
"Then why would the lord send them?"  
"As I said, he was of a very small city. Besides, he's not too bright himself. It was easy to trick him. His men are even easier. Though it'll be fun, I don't understand how they found us. Trust me; Kili will be joining us any minute." Before he could stop her, she walked out of the bushes. It took them a second to realize she was there.  
"Hey, you! You're who we are looking for! Come here before we have to hurt you!" He started to saunter over to her. She held out her hands and a soft mist started coming out. She could feel heat being emanated from a bush nearby. It was Kili. They created a fairly thick fog in a matter of minutes. You could only see two feet in front of you.  
"Come back here!" the soldier yelled. But it was too late, the fog had obscured her. She was suddenly there at his side.  
"Right here," she whispered into his ear. Before he could grab her she jumped back into the fog. From the other side of him, another whisper came.  
"And here," Kari whispered. He jumped with fright as she jumped back into the fog. They continued to scare the troops. They jumped around from left to right, whispering in the soldiers' ears. Suddenly a voice rang out that did not have their accent from the coast.  
"You bumbling idiots! There're two of them! Find them now! I'll, get rid of this fog!"  
"Hiten!" Kari gasped. She looked toward where Kili last was. "I am sorry," she whispered. She ran off into the forest. Because she couldn't see through the fog and she was panicked, she tripped many times and was all scratched up and bruised. She suddenly thumped into something and this time it wasn't a tree. It grabbed her wrists and held them behind her back.  
  
"Missed me?" the voice whispered into her ear. Hiten. She had run in a circle. A blast of lightening filled through the air and the fog started to dissipate. She was at the edge of the other side of the clearing. The soldier who had first spoken had Kili. Kari gasped as an unwanted hand ran down her spin, towards her hot spot. When he touched it she cringed. As the fog finally lifted, she saw Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kouga standing at the far side of the clearing.  
"Let them go," Inuyasha growled menacingly.  
"What are you going to do?" he chided. "You can't use that wind tunnel of yours because you'll suck them up too. You're just a half demon and you," he finally said pointing toward Kouga, "you won't even try to stop me."  
"Why wouldn't I?" he yelled in rage. Inuyasha was turning red in his anger and Miroku was trying to think of a solution.  
"Because if you do," he paused as he flicked a dagger to Kari's throat, "I'll kill her, without a second thought." He paused and nuzzled her neck. "Though it would be a shame to lose something so...beautiful, won't it?" His eyes flashed to Kouga, who seemed unable to take his eyes from that knife. "She is a little minx isn't she?" he chided. "She seems to catch a lot of men's attention." Inuyasha was just about ready to lunge for Kili but Hiten was quicker. He threw the dagger at Kili, but Inuyasha ran in front of her, taking the blow of the knife. Another dagger flicked to Hiten's hand and rested at Kari's throat. Kili struggled with all her might against the soldier so she could get to Inuyasha, who had fallen to his knees. She screamed his name as he fell to the ground, unconscious. Kili tried to use her power, but failed. There was nothing there but her demonic instinct. She couldn't feel her power. Kari didn't struggle. She was gripped by fear as memories flooded through her head. Kili was screaming as the soldiers closed in around her. Kouga and Miroku jumped in, but were blocked by a powerful ward, blocking their entrance into the group if soldiers. They pounded against the ward, trying to break through. Miroku's powers as a monk did nothing for him. Kari felt Hiten press himself against her. "Those three days were too short for my pleasure," he whispered into her ear. He again ran his fingers down her spine, finding that spot that made her shiver. He relished it. "I missed you more than you could imagine," he said teasingly. Tears started to pour from her eyes. She glanced to Kouga, who was trying to break the barrier. He started to circle around toward her. She turned her head to find Kili in the center of a ring of men who were trying to get her, but even her fighting did not ward off the lecherous touches. "You may have that one," he called over to the men. "But don't kill her. Sanyli and Sakuso said that they want them alive." "What about that one?" he said pointing to Kari. "We'd all like a turn with her too."  
"She's mine," he said with a grin.  
"Kari!" Kouga screamed as he came around to her on the other side of the barrier.  
"K-Kouga," she whispered.  
"I've had just about enough of you, Kouga! You're life ends here." Just as Kouga was about to brake the barrier, lightening slammed into him. He flew backwards into a tree, dead.  
"No!" Kari screamed. For the first time she struggled against Hiten. He pressed her arms together so tightly that they almost pulled out of the sockets. Tears stained her face as she struggled against him. Her power wouldn't work. She knew it wouldn't. He was warded. He was protected from her power. She tried to blink the tears from her eyes. Hiten pushed her to the ground.  
Kili was surrounded by men. She didn't know what to do. Someone tried to grab her, but she punched him in the nose, causing it to brake. Someone else tried, but she kicked him in the chest, sending him flying from the circle. Two more grabbed at her, she got one, but the other made her topple to the ground. He straddled her hips and pressed her hands to the ground. She thrashed about but he was a too big and was crushing her. He held both of her hands over her head. He was about to rip her shirt off when Hiten pushed through the ring. "Not now," he commanded. The soldier stopped what he was doing but didn't let her go. "Wait until we get to the castle. Her clothes stay on until then. We don't want to look suspicious, now do we?"  
"Of course," the man said from atop of Kili. "But if we leave her clothes on?" He said with a grin on his face. With that he gave Kili's breast a squeeze. Kili screamed in pain as his fingers bruised her flesh. "Fine, but let her face be unharmed. As I said, we don't want people suspicious." As he was about to walk away, he turned back. "Make sure they stay away from each other. They may see each other, but they cannot speak to one anther." All of the men nodded in agreement. As they started off, Miroku thought the barrier would leave, but to his dismay, it stayed around them. He couldn't follow for he would only get himself killed. He went back to tend to Inuyasha, Kouga, and Kaede, for the sooner they were better, the sooner they could rescue the girls.  
  
It had been a week since they were taken. It had been seven, very long days with no sign of their rescuers. Kili was sitting at the edge of the camp, trying to sleep despite the bruises all over her body. A drunk sauntered over and grabbed her butt. "How about some fun?" he slurred. A kick to the mouth sent him sprawling back over to his comrades. Intrigued, three more came over to her. They weren't as drunk as their comrade so they would be harder to handle.  
Before she could react, the biggest guy grabbed her by the hair and hauled her up to her knees. The shortest punch her in the stomach. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do to him, now was it?" He gave a nod to his friend as he threw a couple more punched into her stomach. She tried to punch back, but the third grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her back. The short man, who was still tall in comparison to her, sank down to her level and looked her in the eye. "We've been real easy on you until now. We could be much crueler to," he grabbed her right breast and squeezed as hard as he could, "satisfy ourselves." She struggled to get away from him but he slapped her. "You're not going to get out of this, young missy. You have your powers locked away. You can't harm us past a broken nose. Right now you can't do anything." He took a rope from his belt and tossed it to his friend, who tied her wrists, which she had recently freed, together so tightly that the rope cut into her flesh. The man holding her hair pushed her to the ground. Before she could rise, the short man straddled her hips to stop her from kicking and getting up. Her powers were locked so she couldn't use her them to lift him off of her. She twisted and turned but he couldn't get out from underneath him.  
  
Her screams came to Kari's ears. She winced with each scream. She couldn't bear knowing what was happening to her friend. It hurt her almost as much as what Hiten was doing to her. Almost.  
Hiten walked into the room with a cocky smile on his face. He squatted down next to where she was chained up in far too tight manacle. "I hope you enjoy those screams. You'll be hearing them for another month before we can get back to the castle." She looked away from him. Kari and Kili had both made an oath not to speak to these men. Hiten lifted her head up and licked her lips. "You taste delicious. I can't wait as long as a month to take you. I might just have to take you on the road." He smiled an insane smile and crushed his lips to hers, forcing his tongue down her throat. She did the only thing she could think of; she bit down as hard as she could. Hiten pulled away with a roar, blood dripping down his chin. "You bitch!" he screamed, slapping her so hard the she flew across the tent. "How dare you..." he stopped and smiled a sickening grin. Stooping down next to her, he grabbed her chin and brought he face close to his. "Do you remember when we were kids? Do you?" Kari didn't answer so he continued. "We were in the same village, you and I. We used to play together. When my family moved away I was devastated. I vowed that I would see you again. But when I went to see you, you saw evil in my eyes, immediately shunning me because of it. You had grown so beautiful," he cooed stroking her cheek mockingly, "and I fell in love with you. But you wouldn't have me, so I took you for myself after years of training with my master." He moved his hands to her waist and sat her upright. "But you had to escape. I would have made you my wife. I would have claimed you, but your friend had to steal you away from me! But this time I will claim you before it is too late." He smirked and leaned close to Kari, his hands wandering around her body. "I can't let you waist you life with that dead wolf now can I?" He grabbed her and started kissing her harshly while exploring her body. Tears started to stream down Kari's face. She couldn't get away. She couldn't leave. She could barely move.  
  
"Do you smell that?" Kouga yelled back to Inuyasha. It had been a week since the villains had taken Kili and Kari into their clutches. As soon as the two were well enough to travel, the trio had been looking for the girls. "Yeah! We're gaining on them. They are traveling pretty slow. I hope they're okay..." "Well, there is nothing we can do about it until we find them, so get a move on!" Miroku stated as he brought up the rear of the party. Glaring at him, Kouga and Inuyasha turned back to what they were doing and continued to track Hiten. At last, that night they came upon the caravan. What they could see wasn't very pretty. The soldiers were scattered around a clearing in the middle of the woods. Toward the far side of the clearing was a slightly larger group of men than the others. "I wonder..." Miroku started but before he could finish a blood chilling scream came from the direction of the group. "Kili!" Inuyasha yelled but before he could run into the camp, Miroku and Kouga pulled him back. "What are you doing? Let me go!" Inuyasha roared. "Shut up!" Kouga whispered, clamping a hand over his mouth. "Do you want to get us killed, mutt face?!" Inuyasha glared but said nothing.  
Later that night, three, silent figures crept into the camp. One with long, silver hair crept through the trees towards the back of the camp. A second ran towards Hiten's tent. The third ran straight into the middle of the camp and started screaming. Sleeping and drunk soldiers started to come out of their tents to see what was going on. What they saw was a comical scene. Miroku was standing in the center of camp screaming on top of his lungs that there was a demon on the woods. He looked to be covered in blood, but was really covered in berry juice, and his eyes were rolling around in his head as if each had a mind of its own. "I'm telling you," he screamed with an insane laugh, "that there is a twenty foot demon on the loose nearby. He'll kill you! Haha! He'll kill you all!"  
"What's gong on here! Who is disturbing me?!" Hiten roared as he came upon the scene.  
"It's a demon, sir!" said a soldier next to him. "This man claims to have been attacked by a demon!"  
"Hey you!" Hiten yelled at Miroku. "You say that there is a demon out there!" Miroku turned toward him to answer, but that was a very big mistake. "YOU!" Hiten screamed in his rage. "You're that monk who was with that mutt and wolf! What are you doing here?!" Hiten spat in the now terrified Miroku's face.  
"Ha...funny you should ask that. You see, I was just strolling through the neighborhood and I just so happen to come across your camp."  
"Really, now?" With that Hiten turned to the soldiers surrounding him. "Search the camp for the mutt face, and, who knows, maybe even wolfy boy is back from the dead." The most of the soldiers left to search the camp and a few remained to chain Miroku. "So, why are you really here, monk?" Hiten asked with a sickening grin on his face.  
"My friends and I have names, you know," Miroku replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Really, monk? What are they?" Hiten asked in a mocking voice.  
"Death, Murder, and Pain," came an all too familiar voice behind him.  
"Ah mutt face, so good of you to join us! Why don't you come over here so I can rip your throat out?" Hiten said casually to the darkness behind him. To Hiten's horror, Kouga, who he thought dead, answered.  
"We were really thinking about doing that the other way around."  
"What the..." Inuyasha drew the Tetsusaiga and swung, but Hiten jumped into the air while blasting lightening at him.  
"I found Kili," whispered Inuyasha to Kouga. "She is doing some damage among her captors."  
"I wish I could say the same for Kari," Kouga said back. "She wasn't in the tent and I didn't have time to look anywhere else!"  
"Of course you didn't find her!" Hiten laughed. "Do you honestly think I would be stupid enough to let my most...treasured possession to be left unguarded and unsafe?"  
"We were actually counting on your stupidity," replied Miroku in an informative tone, only to be sent more lightening strikes. "I would greatly appreciate it if you freed me. That way I won't be BURNED TO A CRISP!" Miroku roared at the two. Inuyasha cut the chains that bound Miroku while Kouga lunged for Hiten.  
"Go do your thing Miroku!" Inuyasha whispered as Miroku slipped off into the darkness.  
  
When Miroku arrived on the other side of camp, he found Kili sitting on top of a huge soldier with a strangely shaped bump growing out of the blood matted hair on the back of his head.  
"What took you so long?" she asked agitatedly. "I was done five minutes ago! It is a lot easier fighting these buffoons when I am not tied up."  
"Well, I had to deal with a very pissed off demon who had apparently tied me up," Miroku replied.  
"Excuses, excuses. Now would you mind starting you little interference thingy so Kari and I can get our powers back?"  
"Fine, fine," Miroku said as he sat on a nearby boulder. "Inuyasha, Kouga, and I spent the entire day setting up barriers within a mile radius of here and Hiten couldn't have hidden Kari that far..."  
"He hid her?!"  
"Yes, unfortunately."  
"Perfect! Just what we need!"  
"If you would like your powers unblocked so you can help defeat Hiten, I suggest you shut up," Miroku said curtly.  
"Fine!" Kili said huffily. Miroku sat up and put his staff in between his legs, making it stand up right. A wind stirred in the trees and a small light started to glow from the staff. The light blue light grew stronger and stronger until... "Oh my god!" Kili exclaimed as beams of light shot out from the staff in dozens of different directions, one going straight into her. All of the other beams were spread out at even intervals, all except one.  
Kari was sitting on a tree branch with a knife at her throat. A stern looking soldier stared out into the darkness as sounds of fighting erupted in the camp. Spells had been placed over the tree warding off anyone but this soldier and Hiten. What it didn't ward off were souls seeking spells.  
A blue light erupted from the underbrush and shot straight toward Kari, only slowing slightly at the barrier. "What the...?" but the soldier was cut off from a violent boom as the light struck Kari's heart. Kari slowly lifted into the air.  
"Your power is your own..."  
Kili's eyes unfocused as the words poured forth from her lips.  
"Your birthright regiven..."  
Kari floated as she recited words of the spell's breaking.  
"Let your mind flow free..."  
Both slowly floated down.  
"Let your soul be restored..."  
"Kili! Are you okay?" Miroku asked as she fell back to the ground.  
"Wha...what happened?" she muttered as her eyes opened.  
"You're back in action." Miroku helped Kili up and made sure she was fine. As they were going to make their way to find Kari, a series of explosions shook the campsite. "What was that?" Miroku shouted over the noise.  
"A very pissed off wolf demon."  
After landing on the ground, Kari had had enough. She felt her power and built-up rage coursing through her veins and she knew exactly who she wanted to vent it on. With her newly found fury she bounded back to the camp, blowing trees and rocks out of her way. Nothing was going to stop her now. Fear had turned to a white hot pocker of pure hatred just waiting to be let out.  
Lighting scorched the grass as Kouga, Inuyasha, and Hiten battled on. Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga was somewhere in the forest, where it can't help its master who had a gash across his face and a hole in his side. Kouga wasn't much better off. He had a twisted ankle and gashes on his arms and legs. Hiten had scratches on his face and a broken arm. "Give it up!" Hiten screamed. "You can never win against me! You are only a simple mutt and a puppy of a wolf. You can never beat me!"  
"You bastard!" Kouga yelled as he rushed forward. Lightening grew in Hiten's fist.  
"Stop." A hand reached out and grabbed Kouga by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Hiten's eyes grew wide with surprise. Kari stepped between the two of them.  
"Kari?" Kouga whispered.  
"That's right, wolfy boy. She's mine and she's on my..." but before Hiten could finish his sentence, Kari whipped around and punched him in the jaw, sending him sprawling on the ground.  
"This is my fight," she whispered with menace.  
"But..." Kouga started.  
"Don't get in my way," she growled. Hiten got up slowly and turned toward Kari.  
"How the hell could you hit me? How the hell can you be here? What the hell is going on, bitch?" Kari walked slowly toward Hiten.  
"I am not your bitch anymore, you little lightning bug."  
"How dare you call me that!"  
"How dare I?" she asked with the smallest smile on her face. The smile quickly faded and her eyes turned to a deep blue that is barely distinguishable from black. "How dare I after what you have done to me? How dare I after you raped me and almost claimed me as your own? How dare I want to kill you, who had taken away my virginity? How dare I want to strangle the man who haunted my worst fears in the dark recesses of my mind?" She continued to advance on him as her eyes grew darker and the air crackled with her power and anger. "How dare I call you a childish name? I think the more correct thing for you to do is plead for your life because I don't fear you any more." She slowly put both hands into the air near the sides of her head and raised her first three fingers.  
"But...but your powers are locked. You're powerless!" Her three fingers glowed light blue. She slid them slowly through the air, a thin sheet of ice forming in the track of each finger. "You can't...there...there's no way!" She held the blades of ice between her fingers and looked into his eyes. The whites of her eyes glowed blue around her jet black iris. "You can't! You're mine!" he said with the slightest confidence.  
"Nope, wrong answer." With that she crossed her arms and threw the blades of ice at Hiten. The blades whistled through the air and sliced his skin is various places. He started to run. "You can't hide from me!" she yelled with an insane laugh. "Lightening is attracted to water. Everyone knows that." Hiten turned and threw bolts of lightening at Kari. She didn't seem perturbed about this. The very air around her was crackling and each blow that hit her seemed to be absorbed into the whirlwinds of water and ice around her. She continued to laugh as if Hiten had told a hilarious joke. "You think a little lightening can stop me? Water and lightening are attracted to each other! But I guess you forgot your reasons to lock up my powers in the first place," she said with a smile on her face.  
Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku, and Kili were watching this from the edge of the clearing. The three men where stunned by what they were witnessing. They could not believe that she was taking his orbs of electricity as if they were nothing. Kili was the only one who was not surprised, only worried. "This is impossible!" Kouga yelled over the deafening sound coming from Hiten's blasts and the occasional shots of ice the Kari threw at him.  
"Quite possible, actually," Kili replied as she watched her friend with concern. "The only problem was that she never mastered this technique during our training."  
"What do you mean?" Miroku asked.  
"In our school we were each taught the different abilities of the powers that we were given by the Yokai stones. She once told me of a technique used against those of lightening. She only mentioned it because she was having trouble mastering it at the time."  
"Kari? Have trouble mastering something? From some of the stuff you've told me that seems hardly possible," Inuyasha said with a snort.  
"Actually, it makes sense," Miroku said. "Have you ever seen a body of water struck by lightening? The lightening almost uses the water as a way to disperse itself. It seems as if the water absorbs it and anything inside the water is instantly killed. But the water never changes."  
"Exactly," replied Kili.  
"So let me get this straight," said Kouga. "She can absorb Hiten's energy?"  
"Yes, but she was never able to master it," answered Kili.  
"Wait," said Inuyasha. "What happens to all the energy if she succeeds?"  
"Give it up Hiten!" Kari shouted at him as he faced her. "You can't beat me!" He was running out of options. He thought that if he was able to hit her with enough energy she would be consumed, but it obviously wasn't working. He drew his sword. "Aw. You're going to fight me like a man? Well guess what?" He wasn't listening. Instead he rushed toward her with his blade raised. "I'm no man." The torrents of power around her grew faster. "I'm a woman." His sword came in contact with the whirlwind of power and all the absorbed lightening was released on its owner, Hiten. He shot backward from the force of electricity that had torn through his body. He lay almost dead on the ground about fifty feet away from where Kari was standing. Her eyes slowly faded to their usual color and the air around her returned to its usual condition. She turned and looked up at Kouga, Kili, Inuyasha, and Miroku and fainted.

Yo PPLZ! THis is my first FANfic so i hope ya like it! i know its a bit unual. Tats why i didn't put it up in the first place. After writing 5 chaps i changed my mind. You I hope ya Like it! R&R suggestions and death threats are all welcome! I'll be writing soon! Ja Ne!


	6. A Little Love Pt 1

Kari slowly opened her eyes to see the familiar shelves filled with herbs and potions and yet again not knowing how she got there. Kaede's hut looked the same as it did when she had left, or had been taken away. No one was insight, not even the old woman. Kari could here birds chirping outside and by the way that the sun was coming in through the window next to her bed, she could tell that it was mid afternoon. She watched happily at the birds and butterflies playing outside her window. She heard the smallest creak of the old wood floor and turned instantly around. "You're awake! Thank goodness," Kouga sighed as he bounded over to her bedside. "We all thought you were a goner." Kari smiled gently but she couldn't speak, her throat was as dry as parchment. She pointed to the pitcher of water on the table. "Oh, you must be thirsty."

Kouga walked to the water pitcher and poured a glass full and walked back to the bed. He put arm around and helped her sit up to drink some of the water. After she had some, she asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days. Are you sure..."

"Yes I'm fine. Where is everyone?"

"Kaede is in the village helping some sick children."

"What about Ki and Inuyasha?"

"They have to guard a little something...or should I say someone...in the forest."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. It's what you didn't do..."

"Okay, if you want to talk in riddles, go ahead. Now next question, where's Hiten?"

"He's a little...tied up at the moment."

"He's not dead...so I'm assuming you mean that literally."

"Mmhmm."

"So that must mean..."

"Yoojzzwansseo."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up lighting bug," Kili replied to the incoherent mumbling.

"Datcllmehtta!"

"You heard what she said, lightning bug. Shut up or we'll let ya die nice and slow instead of the quick death. Understand?" Inuyasha growled in his face. Hiten nodded dumbly against his bonds.

"I wonder what Kari is gonna do with him," Miroku stated.

"I would tell you, but I don't wanna frighten Hiten here, now do I?" Kili replied. At that Hiten started to struggle against his bonds until Inuyasha silenced him.

"I'm going for a walk... you two can handle things on your own, right?" Kari asked.

"No problem. He's bound up so tight that I'm surprised that he can breathe," Miroku said as he picked at his fingernails.

"I'm going with you. Considering all the trouble you've gotten yourself in, it'll be goblins after you next," Inuyasha said as he followed her out of the clearing and into the forest.

"How stupid do they think I am?" Miroku asked himself.

Kili and Inuyasha walked through the woods talking about the events that had occurred in the past few days. The walked about a mile and stopped in a clearing not far from a stream. "So are there any more bloodthirsty villains after you that I should know about?" Inuyasha asked as he sat down on a log.

"Of course! But don't worry about them. Kari and I can take care of them, no problem!" she said with a smirk on her face.

"So that was 'no problem' three days ago?" Inuyasha said mockingly.

"Umm...yeah well...that was different..." Kili started to stammer. Inuyasha grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down to sit next to him. She landed with a thump and looked at Inuyasha surprised. He held her hand as he looked into her eyes.

"I don't care what you say. Kouga, Miroku, and I are going with you from now on." Kili started to interrupt but he pressed his finger to her lips. "I don't care if you had a vision, glimpse, whatever!" He moved his hand to her cheek and stroked it gently. "I don't want you getting hurt." He removed his hand from her face and rested it on her shoulder. "When I saw what those brutes had done to you...when you told me..." he looked down, unable to look her in the eye.

"Inuyasha, look at me." He slowly looked up at her. "I am fine. I can take care of myself. I could never forgive myself if...if what I saw were to happen. You can't come with me. You can't..." Inuyasha stopped her by lightly brushing his lips against hers.

"I can and I will," he said with the smallest hint of a smile. Kili smiled back.

"Okay, maybe you can come." She paused and looked him playfully in the eye. "You know, you're very persuasive." Kili replied.

"Really? Are you sure you don't need any more persuasion?" he said getting closer to her.

"Nope!" and with that she stood up and started to walk away. Inuyasha sat there completely stunned as he watched her walk back to where Miroku and Lightning Bug where.

Kari was sitting at the table, stuffing herself with any food in her reach. Kouga was sitting across the table from her, watching her as if she had two heads. "What?" Kari said when she saw him looking at her like that. "You've never seen a person eat before?"

"No, I've just never seen a demon act like a humanoid bottomless pit before," Kouga replied.

"Incase you haven't noticed," Kari said vehemently while stuffing more food in her mouth, "I haven't eaten in five days!" Kouga looked taken aback by her answer. "What? Did you expect Hiten to feed us while we were there?"

"Well, considering what you've told me about his obsession about you, I would think so." Kari shook her head while shoveling more food down her throat. "He wanted me to suffer before he would treat me as his mate. He wanted me to..." she paused, looking like she was going to be sick. She swallowed her food and sat back. Kouga took her hand, but she immediately flinched away. "I'm sorry...I...It was a reflex...don't take..." Kouga just nodded his head. "I understand. After what you've been through, I'm surprised you can act normal around guys let alone be touched by one. I mean..." his voice trailed off as he looked at her. The look on her face was one of pure horror and she was staring past Kouga towards the door. He turned around and saw a stricken Miroku with half of his hair burnt off and terribly wounded.

"Lightening...bug," were the only words he uttered before he fell to the ground unconscious. Kouga ran to help Miroku but Kari ran past him and looked to the sky to find Hiten escaping with Kagura.

"You're mine, Kari! I shall claim you my mate! Just you wait Kari!" Hiten screamed as they flew into the distance.

Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku, Kili and Kari were sitting on the floor of the hut. It was a mere hour after Hiten had escaped and Inuyasha was itching to be after him. "What are we waiting for?" Inuyasha screamed at Kouga, who had continuously blamed Inuyasha for leaving Hiten alone to go off after Kili. "We should go after him while the trail is fresh!"

"We are not leaving yet! We should wait until Kari is better from her ordeal!" Kouga yelled back just as hot tempered.

"I'm feeling fine..." Kari started but she was interrupted.

"If you weren't a mutt, you would be able to smell out the trail even if it was a few days old!"

"A few days old! What I am worried about is them getting too far ahead of us! Besides...who knows what other old foes we will have to deal with in the next few days!"

"Hey now, we didn't get into that much..." Kili tried to defend herself but she was interrupted by Inuyasha.

"I mean...we have already have had to deal with Kagura, the soldiers, and Hiten!"

"Yeah, and the whole Hiten problem would have been taken care of if you hadn't gone off after Kili!"

"Now, hold on..." Kili started again but was again interrupted.

"I didn't want her to get into any trouble! At least I was protecting someone! You weren't doing anything!"

"Um...guys?" Kari tried.

"I was making sure Kari was being properly taken care of!"

"Guys..." Kili said.

"Flirting's more like it!"

"Hey! Guys!" Kari said a little louder, trying to get their attention.

"Well, at least I didn't kiss the girl, like someone I know!"

"GUYS!" Kili and Kari screamed, getting everyone's attention. There was a moment of silence in which Inuyasha and Kouga looked at the girls and Miroku looked at Inuyasha.

"You actually kissed her?" Miroku asked.

"Miroku..."

"Way to go, Inuyasha!" Miroku clapped him on the back.

"Miroku..." Inuyasha growled.

"You have to give me all the dirty..." Miroku was interrupted by a hanyou's hand crashing into his head.

"SHUT UP WILL YOU!" Inuyasha roared.

"Listen," Kari said to get everyone's attention, "We don't have to follow them and we can take as much time as we need."

"Huh?" the Three Stooges said in unison.

"We know where Sanyli and Sakuso are going to be for the next couple of weeks," Kili said.

"They go to the same place every year for...," and here Kari paused and glanced at Kili, "this time of year. The springs to the south."

"Man," Miroku started, "these girls are really...," he paused when he looked at Kili and Kari's evil stares and realized why they hadn't explained the reason why they went. "Umm...really...um...gonna get it when we meet 'em there. Haha...hmm." He looked at the floor trying very hard not to smile. '_No wonder those two have been extra protective of the girls for the past two days_," Miroku thought to himself. '_Two days from now is the start of mating season._'

Hey! Hope ya like the new chap! I hope to update soon! I wonder what gonna happen when the guys wake up and its mating season and they have two gorgeous girls nearby! R&R!


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